Green Gang

The Green Gang (simplified Chinese: 青帮; traditional Chinese: 青幫; pinyin: Qīng Bāng) was a Chinese secret society and criminal organization, which was prominent in criminal, social and political activity in Shanghai during the early to mid 20th century.

As a secret society, the origins and history of the Green Gang are complex. The society has its roots in the Luojiao, a Buddhist sect founded by Luo Qing in the mid-Ming dynasty; during the early 18th century in the Qing dynasty, the sect was introduced among workers involved in the transport of grain along the Grand Canal via the efforts of three sworn brothers: Weng Yan (翁岩), Qian Jian (钱坚) and Pan Qing (潘清). Luoist groups mixed with the pre-existing societies for grain transport boatmen along the Canal, providing services such as burials and hostels, and also served as a social organisation for the boatmen. However, they were perceived as a threat by the authorities, and in 1768 the Qianlong Emperor ordered the destruction of Luoist temples and proscribed the sect. This had the effect of driving the sect underground, where it became centred on the grain fleets themselves.

During the upheavals of the 19th century, including the Taiping Rebellion and the change in course of the Yellow River around 1855, the shipment of grain along the Grand Canal was severely disrupted and finally ended. This again scattered the boatmen, who either joined local rebellions like the Taiping and Nian rebellions, or shifted to the coast to join the salt smuggling trade. In northern Jiangsu Province in the 1870s, boatmen and salt smugglers began to organize into what was called the Anqing Daoyou (安清道友, literally "Friends of the Way of Tranquility and Purity"), which was the direct precursor to the Green Gang in the early 20th century.

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